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PAN PIPES SUMMER 2015 SAI-NATIONAL.ORG 8 SERVICE THROUGH MUSIC By Diana allan, Sai PatroneSS M ore than twenty years ago, an older gentleman contacted a local music professor. When they met, he told the professor about his wife and her battle with Alzheimer's. He described a heartbreaking tale of losing her little by little until a recent trip to the local theme park. Since that trip, things had changed. Every day since, John took his wife of 49 years to the theme park where they had an "Oldies, but Goodies" music show. During the show and for an hour or so aerward, the otherwise lost and incommunicative Carol was back with John again — for that brief window every day, they could talk and interact. Carol was brought back to life. What the professor couldn't explain scientifically then, but what is being supported by current research, is that Carol was still alive inside, and that music was helping her regain a sense of herself, who she was and is. As musicians, we have always recognized the power of music. Armed with new knowledge of music's effect on ameliorating the effects of Alzheimer's, let's take a look at the disease itself, one man's important discovery, and how you might be able to join the fight to help save the world for those living with this debilitating disease. Alzheimer's disease is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States; however, with the prevalence of under-diagnosis, experts think that it may be more like number one or two. It is the only cause of death in the top ten diseases that cannot be prevented, cured, or slowed. One in three seniors dies with or as a result of Alzheimer's or some other type of dementia. An estimated 5.3 million Americans of all ages have Alzheimer's disease. Every 67 seconds — in fact, before you get to the end of this article — five to ten Americans will develop or have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. ere are 52 new cases every hour, and, by mid-century, someone in America will develop Alzheimer's every 33 seconds. Alzheimer's disease is an epidemic and women are inextricably linked to it. Almost two-thirds of Americans living with Alzheimer's disease are women. e lives of an increasing number of mothers, aunts, grandmothers, daughters, granddaughters, and sisters have been touched by Alzheimer's disease — through their own diagnosis, that of a family member, or as a caregiver. "ere are a number of potential reasons why more women than men have Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. e prevailing view has been that this discrepancy is due to the fact that women live longer than men on average, and older age is the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer's. Data from the Framingham Study suggests that because men have a higher rate of death from cardiovascular disease than women in middle age, men who survive beyond age 65 may have a healthier cardiovascular risk profile and thus a lower risk for dementia than women of the same age, though more research is needed to support this finding." (e Shriver Report, 2010) ose who have developed Alzheimer's usually experience similar mental function losses that include short-term memory loss where events of just a few moments ago may be quickly forgotten, although they may be able to recall events or details from many years prior. Individuals may easily recall their name, the year of their birth, and the address of a home they lived in many years ago, yet they may also think the current year is 1954 and that Eisenhower is president. What is most painful for family members and caregivers of Alzheimer's patients is their gradual driing away from seeming consciousness and their increasing inability to communicate or interact with loved ones. It is as if they are no longer in touch with the person they have always been or with the people they have loved and lived with. Although Alzheimer's cannot be prevented, cured, or slowed there is hope for those who suffer from its memory-robbing course. is is where social worker Dan Cohen, Music & Memory, and SAI come into the picture. HOW MUSIC & MEMORY BEGAN In 2006, social worker Dan Cohen had a brainstorm. Initially, it was a self-guided, simple idea. He thought that if one day he ended up in a nursing home, he would want to listen to his favorite music from the '60s. He volunteered at a local nursing home in New York and started creating personalized playlists for residents. e effects he saw were astounding. Aer listening to music they had once loved, otherwise non- responsive residents were becoming animated and "alive" again. In April 2012, a documentary about his work, Alive Inside: A Story of Music and Memory, was produced and a video clip of Henry, one of the residents reawakened by listening to his favorite Cab Calloway songs, went viral on the Internet. (https://youtu.be/SKO1ODNgbxs) Sisters! Let's Champion This! In the 2012 documentary Alive Inside: A Story of Music and Memory, Henry, an Alzheimer's patient, reawakens while listening to his favorite Cab Calloway songs.

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